Page 38 of Rafael (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 28)

I looked at Claudia and Benito, who had been very quiet. “You were both encouraging me to go tonight. You want to chime in now?”

They exchanged a look, and then Claudia made a gesture likeyou go first. “I honestly thought you’d be allowed guards,” Benito said.

“So why don’t I have guards?”

“We all thought you would be allowed bodyguards as of old, Anita, but the last time a queen sat with the king of the rodere was when women weren’t allowed to fight the men, so to keep the queen safe she had warriors that would fight for her. I would not have asked you to join me tonight had I realized that the old rule no longer applied,” Rafael said.

“It’s sort of my fault,” Claudia said.

“How so?” I asked.

“Look at me. I can beat the men and I’ve done it. I’m not the only one either.”

“I know you’re not the only female wererat guard we have,” I said.

“Yes, and because they’re guards, they’re expected to go into tonight with the same rules as the men.”

Benito said, “But not all the wives will be forced or expected to fight tonight.”

“If Anita were my wife, then I could claim to be her protector, but she is very publicly with other people, so we can’t lie,” Rafael said.

“Older women do not have to fight,” Benito said.

“Because they come from a time when it was not expected, they are literally grandmothered in to be noncombatants,” Rafael explained.

“I am sorry, Anita,” Benito said. “If I had realized that you would be expected to fight your way to the stands, I would not have pushed for you to come tonight.”

“The apology is appreciated, but what do I do now? The whole plan to keep Rafael safe from the big bad vampire that has its hooks in Hector is predicated on me being there with my necromancy and Jean-Claude able to see and act through me.”

“I did not expect the vote to be so strongly against you. It surprised me and as their king, it is my job to know what they are thinking and feeling. I failed you tonight, Anita.”

“What do you mean, vote?” I asked.

“They’ve got an online voting system set up so that rodere across the country can vote on policy and things that impact them all,” Micah said.

“It was Micah’s idea to stop the complaints that I favored St. Louis since it was my home territory.”

“What was the vote exactly for?” I asked.

“I let it be known that I would sit you beside me tonight, that I wanted you to watch me fight.”

“They couldn’t vote that you not come,” Claudia said, “but with Micah they voted that he be allowed one other leopard, but that he had to be one of them, to get through the crowd.”

“I was okay with it, because in theory I agree with the idea that if you’re not good enough to get through a crowd that is just trying to bully and intimidate you, then you aren’t strong enough to be a leader of any group,” Micah said.

“Is this because Anita is technically Nimir-ra?” Nathaniel asked.

“Or the lions’ Regina to Nicky’s Rex?” Micah asked.

“I said I wanted Anita to sit beside me in the queen’s throne, that it had been too long since it was used. I thought it would be nostalgia and... I don’t know what I thought, but I opened the way for them to say if she is our queen, then she must abide by our rules, which means she might have to fight her way to the stands.”

“What do you mean, might?” I asked.

“A lot of the wererats like you, Anita. They remember that you saved us from Nikolaos and the Master of Beasts. They may say hi, or thank you, but they won’t attack you,” Claudia said.

“But others fear you,” Rafael said, “they fear how it feels when you feed on them through me. They think it is evil. They may take this opportunity to hurt you if they can.”

“Definehurt,” I said.

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